Cat Person author's debut book sparks flurry of international publishing deals
Following her viral short story hit, Kristen Roupenian’s You Know You Want This has been sold to Cape in the UK, with the US auction said to be topping $1m
Kristen Roupenian, whose short story about a relationship turned sour, Cat Person, set the internet on fire last week, has sold her debut book to a UK publisher for a high five-figure sum, with an auction in the US now understood to be topping $1m (£748,000).
Published in the New Yorker, which said the response to the story had been “record-breaking”, Roupenian’s Cat Person recounts student Margot’s relationship with the older Robert. Initially conducted through text messages, it eventually becomes physical – “It was a terrible kiss, shockingly bad; Margot had trouble believing that a grown man could possibly be so bad at kissing” – before Margot withdraws and Robert shows his true colours.
